Ten Minutes
by FluffyZGiggler
Summary: A lot can happen in ten minutes... or nothing at all.


Brennan was looking over a file from one of the storage cases when she noticed Booth looking in from the doorway. He didn't say anything, and before then she had been fully focused on the case before her, but whenever he came close to her she would feel it and know he was there. She had always attributed it to the amount of time she spent with him, but deep down she knew it wasn't true. She always knew when someone was there, but he was the only one she could identify without looking.

"I wanted to see if you had eaten," Booth said, knowing that she knew he was there.

"No, I haven't. I wanted to get these files looked over before I thought about lunch." In truth she hadn't even thought about lunch, but she didn't want to tell him that.

"Well, I know you're going to hate this, but you are going to lunch right now, whether you like it or not." He had come in and was gathering up her things as he talked.

"No. Booth, please. Give me just – ten minutes. Give me ten minutes to finish this up."

"Ten minutes?" Booth asked questioningly.

"Ten minutes." Brennan could probably finish it sooner, but it gave her a couple minutes grace period.

"Fine," Booth said, setting her things down on her coffee table and taking a seat across from her. "Ten minutes. Beginning… now."

Brennan went to work immediately, knowing he would give her any more than ten minutes.

At first Booth wasn't much of a distraction. She knew where he was, so she wasn't all that worried. But after about a minute she noticed that watching her. Him just being there wasn't a distraction, he was always there, but him watching her was something new. _No_, she told herself, _Just when he looks at me like that_.

At first Booth figured he could just sit there in front of Brennan for ten minutes. But after about thirty seconds he realized that no matter how hard he tried, his gaze would always drift back to his partner. In truth, it usually did. But this time he looked at her differently. He noticed the way the lights reflected off her hair; the determination on her face; the angle of her body towards him, challenging him to make a move to distract her. The only thing he didn't notice was how aware she was of him.

"Booth," Brennan said, breaking Booth's reverie. It was then that he noticed that he had been caught staring at his partner.

"Yeah?"

"Stop staring."

Booth mumbled something about it being 'easier said than done', but since she didn't understand what he meant, she decided not to pursue the issue.

Booth, deciding it was a waste to just sit there, got up and went to lie on her couch. He had been a little tense recently, and she had a very comfortable couch. _Besides, maybe it will get me to stop thinking about her._

Brennan had thought that having Booth further away from her would make her feel better, but it didn't. Now she was aware of the fact that he was on her _couch_. Now she could see the whole of his body, and how wonderful it was. _This is not helping. I don't usually have this problem. I mean, it's just lunch; the middle of the day. I usually wait until at least six before I daydream about him._

Booth looked down at his watch. There were still eight minutes and forty-three seconds before they were going out to lunch, and he was at a loss at what to do to spend the time. Brennan wasn't one to have things to do lying around, so it wasn't like there was a magazine for him to read. He was thinking about going to look at her bookshelf when his stomach interrupted him.

"Sorry. I'm really hungry, Bones. Can you hurry it up a bit?" He hadn't meant to be so curt, but he needed to change their location.

"It would help if you didn't interrupt me so often."

"Fine," Booth said. He had been having bad dreams recently, and it seemed like as good a time as any to take a nap. No one had ever accused him of talking in his sleep, so he wasn't afraid he might say something he would regret later.

Brennan noticed Booth's changed state almost immediately. His eyes were no longer on her, and she _always_ noticed that. It was like a part of her was missing. It only happened when he was there. When he wasn't, it was easier to ignore. So it wasn't really that it wasn't present, she just couldn't easily force it away. She almost yearned for his presence, and for him to be focused on her. _I don't have time for this_, Brennan thought, _I only have six and a half minutes and I'm barely through._

Even though Brennan was having a terrible time; Booth was loving the first good sleep he'd had in weeks. He wasn't going to admit it, but they had been about her, and all sorts of terrible ways their job could put her in danger or kill her. Sometimes he would have to drive by her apartment, just to see that she was okay. But with her being there he knew she was safe and that he would be there to protect her. It was the first dream/nightmare free sleep he had had in a long time.

Brennan couldn't help being distracted. He was asleep, but that didn't stop her from gazing at his sleeping form. It was starting to unnerve her that she could be so distracted by him; he was just sleeping! Brennan had seen Angela get distracted by a man's body, but she herself could never understand it. And now she was here, in her office, with the man she saw almost every day, and distracted beyond belief.

Normally, Brennan didn't agree to listening to music while working, it was too much of a distraction, but she figured that she could make an exception this one time. The best way to get rid of a distraction is to find something else to distract you. Angela had given her another mix CD, but this one was untitled. The past CD's had been songs themed around "her relationship with a certain 'partner'," as Angela had so eloquently put it, and Brennan was hoping the trend had stopped. She had always been able to rely on Angela to come up with something new. Here themed selection wasn't any different, but it _was_ getting annoying.

Booth could have been considered in a coma, he was in such a deep sleep. But them something came through, interrupting his sleep.

I can be your hero, baby.  
I can kiss away the pain.  
I will stand by your forever.  
You can take my breath away.

Brennan sighed and looked over at the sleeping Booth. Angela had done it again, giving her a CD all with songs reminding her of Booth. She couldn't help remembering times when Booth had come to her rescue: when Kenton was going to kill her, when Epps had escaped, when she was buried alive with Hodgins. He was always there, especially where her family was involved. When she first learned of her mother's death, he had shown up nearly every night with food, just being there so she wouldn't feel alone. And he had been there when she first visited her mother's grave. Granted, he was the one who made her go in the first place, but it was still a special moment. And when her father and brother had abandoned her handcuffed to the bench, he was there to comfort her. And he had arranged that she could visit her father without a wall of glass between them when he was in prison.

Booth was her hero, he always would be.

Booth couldn't help smiling as he heard the words of Enrique. He had always thought of himself as Brennan's hero, her protector; and that song put his thoughts to words. Even that about kissing her.

After Brennan's little thought tangent, she managed to focus and finished in a couple of minutes. There were still four minutes until they had to leave, and Brennan didn't want to disturb the sleeping Agent. He had looked tired recently, and she didn't want to ruin his sleep. She herself had been getting to bed later and later, so she wasn't exactly rested either. She looked at him with envy as he slept.

Booth was back to sleeping contently when he felt the couch move. He opened one eye to see Brennan climbing on top of him and laying down.

"What, have you given up?" Booth asked.

"No, I'm done," Brennan replied.

"With time to spare."

"A whole four minutes."

"Then why are we still here?" Booth asked, confused.

"Because we still have four minutes until you said we had to go to lunch."

"Oh. And why are you here?" Booth asked, indicating their current position.

"Because I only have one couch."

"Fair enough."

"It is. Now shut up so I can sleep." Brennan had ended the conversation, leaving Booth stunned and hoping to God he wouldn't do anything he would regret later. They had never been in such intimate situations willingly, there had always been that bed in Vegas, and he didn't know what the protocol was. So he din the only logical thing: he adjusted her so that he could be comfortable too.

Brennan smiled as Booth's hands grabbed her waist and shifted her body distribution so he could be comfortable as well. That was what their relationship had always been; give and take, a compromise.

She wiggled as she got comfortable in the new position. After a few more wiggles on both sides they were comfortable, lying on her couch and enjoying the comfort the other's body brought each of them. Soon they were both asleep, and would be that way for a lot more than three minutes and thirty seconds.

And that was how Angela found them over an hour later, the lunch break long since over. Her first instinct was to scream, but she fought it, instead going to her office to find her camera. It was a high end camera, and it was going to capture this moment for those times when she thought there was no hope.

She came back to the office and snapped the picture. The picture of their entwined legs and arms wrapped tight, Brennan's head resting on his heart. And the calm on their faces. The peace that enveloped them both as they just lay there.

It was the flash that finally woke them up. Both blinking their eyes as they slowly became aware of the situation. Angela had long since split, not wanting to be there if they knew they were caught.

Booth groaned. "What time is it?"

Brennan just laid there, still in a daze.

"Bones, get up. We overslept. I need to get back."

This brought her back, and she quickly shot up to her feet. She straightened herself and held out her hand. "Sorry I made you miss lunch," she said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get some Thai on my way back."

"Don't do that. How about if I stop by later at the Bureau and we can do the paperwork together? I'm sure I'm at least better company than the silence."

"That sounds great, Bones. I'll… I'll see you then."

And with that Booth left, contemplating what had transpired then (or lack therof).


End file.
